Ali Dizaei granted second appeal against conviction | UK news | The Guardian Ali Dizaei granted second appeal against conviction Sacked Metropolitan police commander given go-ahead to challenge conviction for corruption and misconduct Ali Dizaei has been granted a second appeal against his conviction, which is expected to be heard in the autumn. Photograph: Andrew Winning/Reuters Wednesday 4 July 2012 09.51 EDT First published on Wednesday 4 July 2012 09.51 EDT Close This article is 4 years old The saga surrounding the former police chief Ali Dizaei has taken another astonishing turn after he was given permission for a second time to challenge his conviction for corruption. The court of appeal decided there were sufficient grounds for a full hearing into the safety of Dizaei's convictions for misconduct and perverting the course of justice. A jury convicted Dizaei, then a commander in the Metropolitan police , in February over his false arrest of Waad al-Baghdadi after a dispute over £600. He received a three-year sentence. It was the second time Dizaei had been convicted.

The first guilty verdict was quashed by the court of appeal after it emerged Baghdadi was a serial fraudster who had lied in the first trial. Dizaei's new appeal against the conviction came after his lawyers said they had evidence showing that Baghdadi had a propensity for violence. This evidence was not allowed to go before the jury that convicted Dizaei in February after a ruling by the trial judge. The evidence is understood to include social media messages allegedly written by Baghdadi and a covert recording. Baghdadi is the main witness against Dizaei, but the jury in February decided it believed the word of a convicted fraudster over that of a Scotland Yard commander, as it unanimously found the police chief guilty of arresting and framing a man in a row over money. Dizaei told the Guardian: "I will continue in my efforts to clear my name, irrespective of how long it will take, and how many times I have to appear before tribunals or courts." Baghdadi is under investigation for an assault, having been arrested by the Met on the day Dizaei was convicted for a second time. Other allegations against Baghdadi have resulted in the police deciding to take no further action.

Dizaei, 49, was sacked from the Met in May following his reconviction. He was first convicted of framing Baghdadi in a street clash in 2010 but the conviction was quashed by the court of appeal a year later. At the first trial it was claimed Baghdadi was an honest man and of good character. But the jury heard Baghdadi was convicted in September 2011 of committing benefit fraud by claiming £27,000 in the name of his dead father, from 2007 to 2010, and sentenced to eight months' imprisonment. The case was brought after an investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission. The conviction of Dizaei is the biggest scalp claimed by the embattled police complaints body. Dizaei was a long-standing and vocal critic of the police's record on race, and has also previously criticised the IPCC. His detractors claim he played the race card to advance his career and escape being held to account for his shortcomings.

The second trial saw the jury take 11 hours to unanimously decide Dizaei was lying when he claimed Baghdadi had threatened him and assaulted him outside a west London restaurant in July 2008. Dizaei, 49, was convicted of misconduct in public office for abusing his powers to falsely arrest Baghdadi, and perverting the course of justice for filing false accounts of the incident. In July 2008 Dizaei had clashed with Baghdadi, who claimed the police commander owed him £600 for a website he had designed. Dizaei then arrested Baghdadi, and claimed to have been assaulted and poked in the stomach with the mouthpiece of a shisha pipe. Baghdadi spent 24 hours in a cell and six weeks on bail before it was decided he would not face charges. The guilty verdict will prove difficult for Dizaei's lawyers to overturn. They may believe they have evidence of further benefit fraud by Baghdadi and a propensity to violence, but the appeal court judges will be mindful that twice juries have disbelieved Dizaei, and on the second occasion did so despite hearing his accuser had repeatedly lied.

The clash with Baghdadi was during the summer of 2008 when Scotland Yard was engulfed in a race row. Dizaei was the main adviser to the assistant commissioner Tarique Ghaffur, who accused his bosses of racially discriminating against him. The Met had previously spent at least £4m investigating Dizaei, over a series of separate allegations, but that ended in 2003 with his acquittal, after which he returned to work and won promotions and commendations for his work. Dizaei's second appeal against conviction is expected to be heard in the autumn. Ali Dizaei jailed for corruption | UK news | The Guardian Ali Dizaei jailed for corruption Jury finds Dizaei guilty of misconduct in public office and perverting the course of justice Ali Dizaei arrives with his wife at Southwark crown court.

Photograph: Alastair Grant/AP Monday 13 February 2012 11.24 EST First published on Monday 13 February 2012 11.24 EST Close This article is 4 years old A jury has decided it believed the word of a convicted fraudster over that of Scotland Yard commander Ali Dizaei, as it found the police chief guilty of arresting and framing a man in a row over money. It was the second time a jury has convicted Dizaei of the offences and he again vowed to appeal against his conviction, on the grounds the jury was not told the main prosecution witness is a suspect in a rape case. The jury at Southwark crown court was told that the man Dizaei arrested, Waad al-Baghdadi, had been found to be a serial benefits fraudster, after Dizaei was first convicted in 2010. Those revelations led the court of appeal last May to quash the convictions on the grounds it "significantly discredits" Baghdadi's testimony, and to order a retrial.

The second trial saw the jury take 11 hours to unanimously decide Dizaei was lying when he claimed Baghdadi had threatened him and assaulted him outside a west London restaurant in July 2008. Dizaei, 49, was convicted of misconduct in public office for abusing his powers to falsely arrest Baghdadi, and perverting the course of justice for filing false accounts of the incident. He was sentenced to three years' imprisonment. After serving 15 months from his first conviction, he will spend at least another three months inside before being released on licence. In July 2008 Dizaei had clashed with Baghdadi, who claimed the police commander owed him £600 for a website he had designed. Dizaei then arrested Baghdadi, and claimed to have been assaulted and poked in the stomach with the mouthpiece of a shisha pipe. Baghdadi spent 24 hours in a cell and six weeks on bail before it was decided he would not face charges. Dizaei's 27-year police career will end with him being drummed out of the force in disgrace and almost certain to lose his pension.

The jury was not told that Baghdadi has been arrested and is being investigated over an allegation of rape. A file had been sent to the Crown Prosecution Service to consider bringing charges, a Met spokesperson confirmed. He was also arrested over another rape allegation, but police decided not to take any further action, a decision now under review after it was challenged by the alleged victim. The Guardian understands both allegations relate to the same woman and Baghdadi is believed to deny the allegations. Baghdadi, 26, is also under investigation for an alleged "serious assault", the Met confirmed. The prosecution of Dizaei followed an investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission , whose deputy chair, Deborah Glass said: "I am glad that the jury today has recognised that whatever Waad al-Baghdadi may have done in his past, it did not impact on Dizaei's criminal behaviour in 2008. There is no room in the police for corrupt officers and today's verdict underlines that." Glass hailed the "courage" and "bravery" of Baghdadi for complaining and then testifying in court. During his evidence Baghdadi exercised his right to refuse to answer questions for fear of incriminating himself.

Dizaei had been a vocal critic of police failings on racism. He told the Guardian the case against him resulted from a "vendetta" because of his outspokenness. Sentencing Dizaei, Mr Justice Saunders, said: "You are a very senior officer. The breach of trust that the public has placed in you is the more serious because of your senior appointment. You have been a role model to many other people as a result of your achievements as a police officer." Peter Wright QC, prosecuting, said Dizaei had wrongly arrested Baghdadi in a "wholesale abuse of his power", adding Dizaei believed he could do what he wanted. A doctor who examined Dizaei said he had faked injuries he claimed to have suffered during the arrest. The medic's credibility was challenged when she claimed Dizaei had been wearing a long truncheon when she examined him; CCTV footage showed he was not. But the prosecution witness stuck to her claim. At the first trial it was claimed Baghdadi was an honest man and of good character.

But the jury heard Baghdadi was convicted in September 2011 of committing benefit fraud by claiming £27,000 in the name of his dead father, from 2007 to 2010, and sentenced to eight months' imprisonment. The jury also heard Baghdadi gave false details in the first trial about his name, age and date of birth; and was accused of glassing a man in the street outside a London nightclub in September 2009, according to two witnesses who testified in court. Before he was taken back to prison for second time, Dizaei said: "The IPCC and CPS played every trick in the book to ensure the jury were not told the extent of Baghdadi's criminality. I challenge the CPS to charge him for the rape allegations. It's a sad day that a convicted fraudster, under investigation for rape and assault, is believed over a police officer.''The verdict will prove difficult for Dizaei's lawyers to overturn.

They may believe they have evidence of further benefit fraud by Baghdadi, but appeal court judges will be mindful that twice juries have disbelieved Dizaei, and on the second occasion, did so despite hearing his accuser had repeatedly lied. The clash with Baghdadi was during the summer of 2008 when Scotland Yard was engulfed in a race row. Dizaei was the main adviser to the assistant commissioner Tarique Ghaffur who accused his bosses of racially discriminating against him. The Met had previously spent at least £4m investigating Dizaei, over a series of separate allegations, but that ended in 2003 with his aqcuital, after which he returned to work and won promotions and commendations for his work. Dizaei showed little reaction, but while waiting for the verdict, his head was bowed and his brow furrowed. After the verdict Dizaei's wife, Shai, vowed to fight on: "I promise you I will never give up. We will go back to the court of appeal. I will never give up." Baghdadi was arrested on Monday over an alleged serious assault, Scotland Yard confirmed.

The incident allegedly took place in September 2009 in central London. Baghdadi was arrested and bailed, pending further inquiries, police said. British Police Commander Imprisoned for Assault and Corruption British Police Commander Imprisoned for Assault and Corruption Ali Dizaei, the Metropolitan Police Commander, has been sentenced today to four years imprisonment. Dizaei was found guilty of perverting the course of justice for falsely arresting a man and bodily assault. 24-year-old Waad Al-Baghdadi had completed work on a Web site for Dizaei when he confronted him for payment; Dizaei arrested him. The 47-year-old Metropolitan Police Commander will have to spend two years behind bars. Dizaei was described in court as a bully, with the judge saying: "You knew how the system worked and you thought you would never be discovered. You crossed that line and now stand convicted of these offences." Ali Dizaei found GUILTY of perverting the course of justice | Daily Mail Online He swaggered around Scotland Yard believing he was above the law. Commander Ali Dizaei bullied, intimidated and threatened anyone who crossed his path.

If that didn't work, the Iranian-born officer accused them of being racist. But yesterday his reign of corruption came to a dramatic end when he was condemned as a 'criminal in uniform' and given four years in jail for trying to frame an innocent man. Following a bust-up in a restaurant, Dizaei, 47, told colleagues that an Iraqi website designer had assaulted him. It was a pack of lies and yesterday, after a four-week trial, a jury took just two-and-a-half hours to convict Dizaei of misconduct in a public office and perverting the course of justice. They found he attacked Waad al-Baghdadi before arresting and attempting to frame him for assault. Dizaei, who had been the subject of dozens of corruption allegations during his time in the Met, is the most senior Scotland Yard officer to be jailed since the 1970s. Although he seems certain to appeal against conviction, he faces the sack after more than a decade of running rings around some of the country's most senior officers and politicians.

As the crooked former president of the National Black Police Association starts his sentence at Wandsworth Prison in South London, on the vulnerable prisoners' wing alongside sex offenders, the Mail can reveal that: Dizaei is sitting on a £1million pension pot which last night prompted calls for him to be stripped of his entitlement. He was promoted to commander, equivalent in rank to a provincial assistant chief constable, despite performing poorly in interview and Yard chiefs being warned by the Serious Organised Crime Agency of concerns about his conduct. Police authority officials had wanted to sack him in a fast-track process last spring but backed down amid fears he would sue for racism - allowing the £90,000-a-year officer to stay suspended on full pay for a further nine months. After the verdicts, the chairman of the Independent Police Complaints Commission, Nick Hardwick, said: 'Dizaei behaved like a bully and the only way to deal with bullies is to stand up to them.' Mr Hardwick, whose organisation was widely praised for pursuing Dizaei, made a thinly-veiled attack on previous Met chiefs who had appeased the corrupt officer over the last decade.

[caption] [caption] He said: 'The greatest threat to the reputation of the police service is criminals in uniform like Dizaei. Corruption comes in many forms and remains a threat to the police service. It requires constant vigilance to fight it.' David Michael, a founder and past chairman of the Metropolitan Black Police Association, said Dizaei had damaged race relations in the force. 'I'm concerned that Commander Dizaei has used the National Black Police Association as a fig leaf to cover his own questionable behaviour.' [caption] The former chairman of the Metropolitan Police Superintendents' Assocation, Simon Humphrey, called for Dizaei to be stripped of his £1million-plus pension pot. He told the Mail: 'As a matter of course, he should lose his entire pension. The police should no longer take a cowardly stance towards this crook.' RELATED ARTICLES Share this article Share Met Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson called Dizaei's behaviour 'disgraceful': 'It is extremely disappointing and concerning that this very senior officer has been found guilty of abusing his position and power. 'He has breached that trust and damaged not only his own reputation but that of the entire police service.

'I am proud of the officers who gave evidence in this case and supported the IPCC investigation. 'Bearing in mind his rank and disgraceful behaviour, he should not be surprised at the severity of his sentence.' Former Scotland Yard Assistant Commissioner Andy Hayman said Dizaei was 'out of control' and had engaged in 'a wholesale abuse of power for personal motives'. He also described him as a 'violent bully and liar who abused his position of trust'. 'He knew where he could push the boundaries, and how to use the Met's fears of appearing racist to make it difficult to investigate him,' Mr Hayman said. Another former colleague Brian Paddick called Dizaei a 'Marmite' senior officer who divided opinion: 'Many hated him, believing he had "got away with it" because "he was black". But for the Black Police Association, we was their flag-bearer.' Having served 24 years in the police, Dizaei is currently entitled to a lump sum payout of about £200,000 and an index-linked pension of about £30,000 a year when he reaches the age of 60.

A jury at Southwark Crown Court heard that Dizaei and Mr al-Baghdadi met by chance on July 18, 2008 in the Yas restaurant, run by a friend of the policeman in Hammersmith, west London. Mr al-Baghdadi, 24, approached Dizaei and asked for £600 he was owed for building a website showcasing the officer's career, press interviews and speeches. This angered Dizaei, who had just eaten a meal with his wife but was still in uniform after attending a ceremony at New Scotland Yard for new recruits. The officer confronted the younger man in a nearby sidestreet where a scuffle took place. [caption] [caption] By then Mr al-Baghdadi had called 999 on his mobile phone but Dizaei took the phone from him and complained that he was being attacked. When police arrived it was Mr al-Baghdadi who was arrested and handcuffed. Dizaei claimed he had been assaulted with the metal mouthpiece of a traditional pipe held on Mr al-Baghdadi's key ring.

But a doctor concluded that two red marks on the officer's torso were probably self-inflicted and did not match the pipe. Vanity fair: Disgraced Met Police Commander Ali Dizaei, left, got rid of his grey hair for yesterday's court appearance. He was less concerned in 2003, centre, and later in 2007 When Mr al-Baghdadi was told weeks later he would not face any charge, he complained about his treatment and Dizaei's web of deceit slowly unravelled. Giving evidence, Mr al-Baghdadi compared Dizaei to the bloodthirsty movie gangster Tony Montana, played by Al Pacino in the 1983 film Scarface. He said many people were scared of the Metropolitan Police officer because of his status in the Iranian community. Yesterday Dizaei, his hair newly dyed black, swaggered into court with his third wife Shy fully expecting to be acquitted. But he showed no emotion as the verdicts were given or as sentence was passed. He was sentenced to four years on each of the two charges, with the sentences to run concurrently.

Mr Justice Simon said he must serve the first half of his term in custody and the rest on licence. He told Dizaei his conduct had been a 'grave breach of public trust'. How his bosses limply played along as he shamelessly played the race card . . . [caption] For almost a decade, the figure of Commander Dr Ali Dizaei dominated and poisoned race relations within the Metropolitan Police. His public face was that of human rights champion and defender of fellow ethnic-minority officers against prejudiced white colleagues. Dizaei felt their pain. After all, wasn't he the most unfairly persecuted 'black' policeman of them all? In fact, he was simply a self-serving crook; clever conman, bully, playboy, womanising misogynist, serial litigant and liar, who hijacked the issue of race and used it for his own ends. Under his presidency the National Black Police Association became a useful tool against those who dared cross him. Dizaei's jailing for corruption yesterday, seven years after being cleared of similar charges, closes one of the most troubling episodes in modern police history. Many viewed the Iranian-born officer as 'untouchable'. Certainly Dizaei himself thought so.

One of the most telling moments in his trial was a witness's account of how the 'Teflon Commander' had shouted at him: 'Do you know who I am? I'm Ali Dizaei. Back off!' And back off they did, shamefully. Successive Met commissioners, home secretaries and independent police watchdogs were too nervous to take him on because of the race storm he would invoke. Dizaei grew up in Tehran, where his father and grandfather were both senior police commanders. At ten he was sent to boarding school in England, later studied law and in 1986 joined Thames Valley Police. He was fast-tracked through the junior ranks but his abrasive personality, self-promotion and readiness to find offence were already an issue with colleagues and public alike. In 1999 he applied to become a superintendent in the neighbouring Metropolitan Police. Britain's biggest force was in turmoil, damned as 'institutionally racist' by the Macpherson Report into the bungled investigation of the murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence by a gang of white thugs. The Met needed more senior black officers.

Dizaei was accepted even though Deputy Assistant Commissioner Barbara Wilding described him after his interview as the most rude and arrogant man she had ever met. Alas, Commissioner Sir Paul Condon was in no position to be choosy. Dizaei, with a PhD newly awarded for a thesis 'The Thin Black Line' on - yes - police racism, was in. Once, when he was questioned by a senior white colleague, he replied: 'You can't tell me what to do.' 'But I'm your boss,' said the startled superior. 'I have only one boss and that is Allah,' snapped Dizaei, piously. In fact his probity rather than his piety was already a matter of great concern. In 1997, while he was still at Thames Valley, a Scotland Yard informant had alleged that Dizaei was involved in drugs, interfering in court cases for money and consorting with prostitutes. 'From now on you are dead' The allegations were never substantiated and no disciplinary action was taken. But shortly after he transferred to New Scotland Yard his old force received new allegations about him which were passed on to the Met.

In September 1999 Operation Helios, a multi-million-pound investigation into his life and integrity, was launched. Ian Blair was charged with oversight of the inquiry on his appointment as deputy commissioner in 2000. Dizaei was suspended in January 2001. Some 1,000 wiretaps had demonstrated that he was no ordinary police officer. He was monitored associating with a conman and four major criminals suspected of money laundering. Surveillance also suggested that he took £800 from a man on bail, in apparent exchange for help with a drink-driving charge. RELATED ARTICLES Share this article Share Other wiretaps revealed unauthorised links with a number of foreign embassies. Dizaei apparently stood to gain £2million by brokering the £24million sale of the Ethiopian Embassy in London. The sums staggered listening detectives, who wondered how a middle-ranking police officer came to be involved. Further diplomatic concerns touched directly on national security. Dizaei had contacts with senior staff in the Iranian Embassy and sometimes drove a Liberian Embassy car with diplomatic plates. On a more mundane level, he allegedly bullied a junior colleague into dropping an investigation of a friend.

Unsavoury character traits were also exposed, in particular an appetite for philandering. [caption] Here was a man of powerful appetites. And dangerous if denied them. Most damning of all, perhaps, were the transcripts of telephone messages Dizaei left to an Iranian ex-lover, Mandy Darougheh. She had dumped him having discovered he was married, to his second wife Natalie. His reaction, left on her voicemail, was recorded by Helios. 'I will take such revenge from you, that like a dog, you will be sorry that you will never treat me like this again,' he declared. 'Mandy, I am going to declare war on you and I have declared it as of now. See what I will do to you. From now on you are dead. I will start with your mum first. I am so emotionally disturbed now that anything is possible from me. 'I give you an hour and see what I will do to you. If you think I am worried about my career, to get back at you, you must be joking. 'Just remember what I did to ******'s (name unknown) husband. You are not safe.

I am going to come and catch you, on my mother's life. If you are at home, get out because if I see you, I am going to lose it right now. 'You want war, bitch, you're going to get some war. You will see now what I can do so you will cry for years. First I will start with your family, then I come to you and your reputation. I will spread all over London that you are a prostitute.' Even his barrister, Michael Mansfield QC, had to admit during arguments not heard by the jury: 'No police officer, no human being, should be talking like that. We all make mistakes, but it's unacceptable.' Luckily for Dizaei, the jury did not see these transcripts. And for all its wide-ranging allegations Helios resulted in him facing only two sets of criminal charges. The first concerned attempting to pervert the course of justice by falsely accusing colleagues of vandalising his car. During the Old Bailey trial Dizaei had to admit lying to investigators about the vehicle's whereabouts on the day in question. But the unexpected appearance as a defence witness of Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur - the Yard's highest-ranking Asian officer - probably proved crucial.

Ghaffur claimed that Dizaei was targeted because of his colour. To the consternation of the Helios team, Dizaei was found not guilty. Other fraud charges were formally dropped by the prosecution in September 2003. Still, he was by no means out of the woods. Helios had exposed appalling errors of judgment if not gross misconduct. Nine serious disciplinary matters were still outstanding. With stupendous cynicism, Dizaei went on the attack. Helios, he said, had been a 'racist witch hunt'. He launched a claim for discrimination. The NBPA, of which he was then 'legal adviser', called for an ethnic minority recruitment boycott. Home Secretary David Blunkett panicked. The Met leadership was supine. Nearing retirement, Commissioner Sir John Stevens did not want his 'legacy' tainted by a race war. His ambitious and politically correct deputy Ian Blair was tasked to reach a compromise, personally brokered by Blunkett. The result? A shameful backroom deal which was to have disastrous long-term consequences. All disciplinary matters were dropped.

Dizaei was returned to duty, given £80,000 compensation and a place on the Senior Command Course at Bramshill police college. Sir John announced: 'The investigation of Superintendent Dizaei highlighted some areas where his conduct fell far below the standards expected of a police officer. He has already publicly expressed his regret for these and acknowledged the lessons he has learned.' Stevens added, to the amazement and disgust of the anti-corruption unit: 'Superintendent Dizaei is returning to the Met with his integrity demonstrably intact.' This man of integrity then took his not-so-subtle revenge on Chief Superintendent Barry Norman, who had headed Helios. Some 120 complaints against Norman were made to the IPCC by Dizaei's family and friends. They all had to be investigated by Essex Police which, after three years and £1million in costs, found Norman's conduct was beyond reproach. After Helios, Dizaei became a favourite of the liberal media, putting himself forward for comment whenever the issue of race arose.

Investigations: Ian Blair, left, was put in charge of Operation Helios which revealed that Dizaei was associating with criminals, but Tarique Ghaffur, right, claimed he was being targeted because of his colour A particularly devoted Guardian journalist attended his third wedding. The credulous BBC even decided that his autobiography Not One of Us was worthy of being Radio 4's Book of the Week. Dizaei himself read the daily extracts of a memoir which the Met was too nervous to veto. In the event, the book had to be withdrawn with substantial damages and legal costs paid out because Dizaei had libelled two former colleagues with inaccurate accounts of the Helios trial. There were still battles to be fought on his own behalf. In March 2007 Dizaei's application to be promoted to commander was turned down. Predictably the puppet NBPA, of which he was about to be made president, declared the decision 'biased and unfair'. After similar public agitation, he appeared before a second promotion board in early 2008. Once again he performed poorly compared with other candidates. But by then it had become simply too much trouble for the Met to turn him down.

The Mail can reveal that between his first and second commander promotion boards, Scotland Yard's anti-corruption unit was warned by the Serious Organised Crime Agency that Dizaei was linked with someone 'of great concern' to it. SOCA's remit is to target the UK's biggest organised criminals, many of whom are under constant surveillance. No matter. Dizaei got his commander's badge of rank, a £90,000 salary and chauffeur. Almost immediately he steered the NBPA into a head-on collision with the Met and, in particular, the hapless Commissioner Blair, now Sir Ian, whose position was precarious following the shooting of innocent Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes. First a senior Asian officer, Commander Shabir Hussain, launched an NBPA-backed claim for racial discrimination against the Met. The same week it was leaked that Assistant Commissioner Ghaffur, Dizaei's saviour in the Helios trial, was about to follow suit with a litany of allegations against the 'racist' force. Cold revenge for Sir Ian's overseeing of Helios?

Many feel that Ghaffur was encouraged against his better judgment to pursue the race claim by his subordinate Dizaei and the NBPA's 'legal adviser' Shahrokh Mireskandari, another Iranian expat. But Dizaei's offensive began to unravel. 'Behaved like he was in Tehran' In July 2008 he made his false allegation of assault against Waad al-Baghdadi. A few weeks later, in September, the Mail revealed that his close friend Mireskandari was a convicted conman with bogus legal qualifications. We also told how Mireskandari, since suspended and his firm closed, had persuaded Dizaei to advise him on how to undermine a death-bydangerousdriving case against a client. This was a breach of the police code of conduct. Within days Dizaei, then in overall control of policing in ten West London boroughs, was suspended from duty for the second time. With wearying inevitability, he launched another NBPA-backed race discrimination claim. Given his conviction, that is now academic. Dizaei's power and influence within the Iranian expat community was a key feature of the trial.

'Ali was a senior London policeman behaving like he was a police chief in Tehran,' one Iranian acquaintance of the commander told the Mail. 'He had huge respect but people were afraid of him because of his power.' Dizaei undoubtedly tried to make this count. In court Iranian witnesses reversed their original stories to match Dizaei's own. To no avail. Nor could Ghaffur ride to Dizaei's rescue again. And given that Dizaei's accuser, Mr al-Baghdadi, was Middle Eastern, that well-worn race card was no longer a trump. In the end Dizaei's inconsistencies, evasions and omissions led the jury to believe that before them stood not a martyr but nothing more than a bent copper. The wives and lovers who came and went By DAVID WILKES In ankle-length leopard-print coat, her lips painted a vivid red, Shy Dizaei looked every inch the gangster's moll as she strolled into court arm in arm with her grinning husband yesterday. She was no doubt planning a celebratory night out after the hoped-for acquittal.

Today, the third Mrs Dizaei faces the less palatable prospect of awaiting a visiting order to see the disgraced police commander in jail. An Iranian in her mid-30s, she had backed up her husband's story that he had been a peacemaker not aggressor with his accuser. Wife and lover: Dizaei's second wife Natalie, left, and student Mandy Darougheh, right, whom he threatened with appalling phone messages Yesterday she looked tearful as the jury delivered its verdict. Her eye-catching coat removed, she sat in the public gallery - her bottle-blonde hair now tied back with a clip - in a tight brown trouser suit, white top and high-heeled shoes with ribbons on. When he was bailed to the confines of the court ahead of sentencing, she was the first to his side and they left the court room holding hands. Later, she hung her head as he was sentenced. The couple were married at Ealing Town Hall, West London, in August 2007. Dizaei's first wife Sally was a nurse whom he married in 1981.

He has claimed in an interview that it was a 'youthful mistake' and after ten months the marriage was on the way out. Other women: Sonia Campbell, left, was said to be 'close' to Dizaei and Sima Evans, right, was an Iranian divorcee when she had an affair with the shamed police commander She simply wants to forget all about her former husband and has previously said: 'He may have done wrong by me and he may get his comeuppance but it was all a long time ago. 'I have a new life and I don't want anything to spoil that. I really do not want to think about Ali Dizaei or see him again.' He married second wife Natalie in Reading in August 1986. Their marriage hit the skids after they had their third son and began to drift apart. Instead of divorcing - which they believed would be disruptive to their children - a relationship evolved where they lived together but no longer shared a bed. When he was acquitted of criminal charges in 2003, it emerged that Dizaei had relationships with six women during the marriage to Natalie.

One of his former lovers, Iranian divorcee Sima Evans, worked as an estate agent in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire. She said Dizaei claimed he had affairs with the full agreement of Natalie. 'The way he behaves towards women is not something that is acceptable in the Iranian culture, definitely not, but it was an agreement that he and his wife had between themselves. It's not that he's a charmer.' [caption] Other women linked to him included Kingston University research fellow Dr Elham Hashemi, whom he installed in a flat in Wimbledon, and fitness fanatic Nasrin Gamester, who paid for his membership of an exclusive Kensington gym. There was also student Mandy Darougheh, whom he threatened in a series of appalling phone messages. He was also said to be close to a fellow police officer, Sonia Campbell, an aunt of supermodel Naomi Campbell, and to one of the country's top sportswomen. When Dizaei's office was searched, photos were found of him with a lap dancer taken during a National Black Police Association jaunt to Canada. The woman was wearing his police hat and her breasts were out. Dizaei was wearing his police shirt.

Dizaei, back in London, had several bugged phone conversations with her in police time, in one of which he recalled how good sex had been with her. He conducted some of his extra-marital relationships in a tiny flat above the Iranian restaurant in Hammersmith where the incident which prompted his latest trial took place. Owner and close friend Sohrab Eshraghi, who for 'cultural reasons' provided the officer with regular freebie meals, was a defence witness for Dizaei. Ali Dizaei: Met chief found GUILTY of misconduct and perverting the course of justice | Daily Mail Online comments For nearly three decades, he considered himself above the law in a career littered with lies, sickening threats to women and old-fashioned corruption. But yesterday the talking stopped for Scotland Yard’s ‘Teflon Commander’ Ali Dizaei after he was convicted for the second time of framing an innocent man and sent back to jail. The swaggering playboy, who loved to play the race card to intimidate critics, will never wear a police uniform again after receiving a three-year sentence for misconduct in a public office and perverting the course of justice.

Scroll down for video Guilty: Ali Dizaei arrives at Southwark Crown Court with his wife Shy this afternoon before being sentenced to three years in jail His disgraceful behaviour has been repeatedly exposed by the Daily Mail which, since 2001, has chronicled how timid Scotland Yard chiefs appeased his appalling behaviour, endless threats of legal action and even strikes by fellow race militants. RELATED ARTICLES Share this article Share At one stage, Dizaei was considered more powerful than the Metropolitan Police Commissioner – such was the stranglehold he held over his supposed superiors. In 2008, he was central to a plot to bring down the then Yard Commissioner Sir Ian Blair by encouraging a devastating claim for racial discrimination by Britain’s most senior Asian officer, Tarique Ghaffur. Their campaign unravelled only when the Mail revealed that Mr Ghaffur’s lawyer Shahrokh Mireskandari – a close friend of Dizaei – was a convicted conman with bogus legal qualifications. Mr Ghaffur later dropped his compensation claim against the Met and retired.

Dizaei, 49, who arrived at court with his third wife Shy, was first found guilty in February 2010 of framing young businessman Waad al-Baghdadi in a street row. But he was freed from prison, where he was serving a four year sentence, last May after the Court of Appeal quashed the convictions because his victim had failed to tell the truth about his immigration status. Caught on camera: A CCTV image of Dizaei arrives at the Yas restaurant in Kensington High Street, west London, where the confrontation with designer Waad al-Baghdadi took place Argument: Dizaei, pictured pointing his finger on the left, confronts Mr Al-Baghdadi, right, at Yas Persian restaurant Guilty verdicts in the retrial mean there is now no way back for the disgraced officer – who in an extraordinary interview in the lead-up to his retrial compared his time in prison to that of Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. Incredibly, although he had still to clear his name, he was reinstated, quickly suspended on full pay and then awarded up to £180,000 in back pay and allowances as he awaited the new hearing.

He was also granted legal aid and will continue to receive his full £100,000 a year police salary in prison until Scotland Yard chiefs sack him. Insiders believe it could be months before Dizaei, who intends to appeal against his latest convictions, is off the Metropolitan Police payroll. Ali Dizaei walks hand in hand with his wife Shy in Bristol during day release from an open prison in April The allegations against Dizaei stem from an incident that took place at the Yas restaurant, pictured, in Kensington, London In 2003, Dizaei was controversially awarded £80,000 compensation and a promise of fast-track promotion after a previous court case ended in his acquittal. Yesterday’s three-year term will be reduced by the 15 months he has already spent behind bars. Passing sentence at Southwark Crown Court, Mr Justice Saunders said Dizaei used his position and power to arrest Mr al-Baghdadi over a private dispute. He told the policeman: ‘You are a very senior officer. The breach of trust that the public has placed in you is the more serious because of your senior appointment.

You have been a role model to many other people as a result of your achievements as a police officer.’ Iranian-born Dizaei, from Acton, west London, had initially been jailed for four years after being convicted of the same offences in February 2010. In both cases the jury’s verdict was unanimous. Yesterday his barrister, Stephen Riordan QC, said his time in prison was ‘extremely difficult’ because of his job as a high-profile police officer. He told the court that Dizaei was assaulted and admitted to hospital twice while serving his original sentence. Dizaei is expected to serve half of his sentence, meaning he is likely to be released from jail within three months. The judge said a later hearing would be held to decide how much the policeman should pay towards the costs of the prosecution and his defence team. Despite new evidence about Mr al-Baghdadi’s immigration status, the jury of four women and eight men was not swayed by Dizaei’s denials. After a month-long trial, they found he attacked the young Iraqi businessman before arresting and attempting to frame him.

Dizaei previously emerged unscathed from a series of inquiries over the years, including a multi-million-pound undercover operation examining claims of corruption, fraud and dishonesty. When he was cleared of corruption in 2003, it emerged he had at least six mistresses while married to second wife Natalie. But the attempt to frame a man who pestered him for payment over a website exposed him as a violent bully and liar who abused his position. Southwark Crown Court heard that the officer and the young Iraqi met by chance in the Persian Yas restaurant, run by Dizaei’s friend Sohrab Eshragi, in Hammersmith Road, west London, on July 18 2008. Mr al-Baghdadi approached Dizaei and asked for £600 he was owed for building a website showcasing his career, press interviews and speeches. This angered Dizaei, who had just eaten a meal with his wife after attending a ceremony at New Scotland Yard for new recruits. The officer confronted the younger man in a nearby sidestreet, where a scuffle took place and Mr al-Baghdadi was roughly arrested and handcuffed.

In one of two 999 calls, Dizaei asked an operator for ‘urgent assistance’ before starting to arrest Mr al-Baghdadi. When officers arrived, Dizaei handed them the metal mouthpiece of a shisha pipe, held on Mr al-Baghdadi’s key ring, and claimed he had been stabbed with it. But a doctor at Hammersmith police station concluded that two red marks on the officer’s torso were probably self-inflicted and did not match the pipe. Dizaei told colleagues he had been attacked, leaving Mr al-Baghdadi in custody for 24 hours and ultimately facing prosecution. Gaon Hart, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said after the hearing: ‘Dizaei’s corruption, which would be deplorable in any police officer, was all the more so given his position as a highly ranked commander. ‘The public entrust the police with considerable powers and with that comes considerable responsibility.

Dizaei abused that power and ignored that responsibility.’ Deborah Glass, deputy chairman of the Independent Police Complaints Commission, added: ‘There is no room in the police for corrupt officers, and today’s verdict underlines that.’ A small group of Dizaei’s supporters mounted a protest as Miss Glass left the court building, heckling her and giving her a slow handclap. Dizaei’s solicitor Imran Khan, of the Manchester-based law firm Lewis, Hymanson and Small, said he planned to challenge his conviction. On the steps of the court, Mr Khan said: ‘He is extremely disappointed at the decision and we shall be appealing straight away.’ Dizaei's notoriety led him to compare himself to London's most wanted Ali Dizaei is the most controversial figure with a Scotland Yard badge on his shoulder. He has rarely been far from trouble throughout his long and contentious police career. Various attempts to oust the 49-year-old from his job have proved unsuccessful, with the commander bouncing back each time. His notoriety within the Metropolitan Police even led him to compare himself to London's most wanted criminals.

Most ambitious officers accrue an enviable file of challenging postings, tough training course credits and references from esteemed colleagues. In 1999, Dizaei joined the Metropolitan Police and was promoted to superintendent, based in Kensington, south-west London Dizaei's 26-year police career followed a similar trajectory as he was fast-tracked through the ranks in Thames Valley and then in the capital. But it is most notable for a series of bruising encounters which left him joking he should put on his stab vest when walking inside New Scotland Yard. His latest spell in court comes after a long battle involving a conviction, an acquittal and a retrial. In February 2010 his career looked ruined after he was found guilty of assaulting and falsely arresting a man in a petty row over money. A Southwark Crown Court jury ruled he was a corrupt officer who abused his position to bully a younger businessman. He was sentenced to four years for assaulting and falsely arresting Iraqi Waad al-Baghdadi after he asked for £600 he was owed for a website showcasing Dizaei's controversial career. Iranian-born Dizaei fought to appeal against his conviction, but his initial applications were refused.

However, the Court of Appeal last year quashed his conviction, and in May he was let out of jail. He claimed his integrity 'was completely intact' when he walked free from Leyhill open prison after 15 months after. Further criticism was levelled against him when it emerged eight months after his conviction he paid just £750 towards the £64,500 it cost to put him on trial. Dizaei earned several hundred thousand pounds while suspended on full pay awaiting the 2010 trial and an earlier corruption trial in 2003. Born in Tehran in 1962, Dizaei was brought up in a family steeped in policing with a father who headed the traffic police and an assistant commissioner grandfather. He claimed police work was his destiny and joined Thames Valley Police after attending boarding school and City University Law School. Scotland Yard Commander Ali Dizaei, pictured right at Hammersmith police station, after he arrested Waad al-Baghdadi (left) As politicians and senior officers worked hard to increase the number of ethnic minority recruits, Dizaei was tipped to become the first Asian chief constable.

He continued to study, eventually earning a PhD and adding the title 'Doctor' to his police business card. In 1999, Dizaei joined the Metropolitan Police and was promoted to superintendent, based in Kensington, south-west London. It was the year the force was accused of institutional racism after the inquiry into the handling of the murder of Stephen Lawrence. Dizaei was by then vice-chairman of the National Black Police Officers Association (NBPA) and cutting a dash with his smart clothes and glitzy lifestyle. But he was suspected of corruption and became the subject of what was to become the most expensive inquiry into a single officer. Colleagues investigated him under the codename Helios over allegations he used drugs and prostitutes, and was spying for Iran. In 2001 he was suspended until his acquittal at the Old Bailey in 2003. A second trial linked to claims he made false expenses claims was dropped at the last minute. The Metropolitan Police said the inquiry cost the taxpayer £2.2 million. Dizaei argued that the figure was more like £7 million.

But since being cleared, reinstated and awarded £60,000 compensation, the senior officer refused to adopt a new low profile. He spoke out over a botched counter-terrorism raid on the home of two brothers in Forest Gate, east London, and against the profiling of aircraft passengers. In 2007, he angered bosses even more as he singled colleagues out for blame in his book Not One Of Us. In following years Dizaei was at the centre of a fresh series of race claims during his time as president of the Metropolitan Black Police Association, He acted as an adviser to Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur as his relations with former Commissioner Sir Ian Blair imploded amid acrimony. Dizaei eventually filed his own race claim accusing the force of 'systematic' discrimination.

ALI DIZAEI'S RETRIAL WAS LATEST CHAPTER IN 26 YEAR POLICE CAREER 1986 Ali Dizaei • Biography & Facts Ali Dizaei Ali Dizaei Jamshid Ali Dizaei (Persian: جمشید علی دیزایی‎, Jamshīd ʿAlī Dizaī; Persian pronunciation: [dizɒːjiː]) (born 1962) is a former Commander in London's Metropolitan Police Service, Iranian-born with dual nationality, and formerly one of Britain's more senior Muslim police officers, Dizaei came to prominence as a result of his outspoken views on racial discrimination in the London Metropolitan Police and various allegations of malpractice on his part. He was jailed for perverting the course of justice in February 2010. Although he was later released on appeal he was eventually re-convicted and re-sentenced on 13 February 2012 and a further appeal was unsuccessful.He had received advancement after his criticism of the force following his claims of racism.

He was a frequent media commentator on a variety of issues, mainly concerned with ethnicity and religion.In April 2008, he was promoted to Commander, responsible for West London. In August 2008, he was presented with the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal by the Commissioner, Sir Ian Blair .On 8 February 2010, he was convicted in the Crown Court before Mr Justice Simon on charges of perverting the course of justice and of misconduct in a public office, and was jailed for four years. He had been suspended on full pay since September 2008 and on 31 March 2010 was formally dismissed from the Metropolitan Police.Dizaei was initially imprisoned at HMP Edmunds Hill, Suffolk. He was seriously assaulted by other inmates and moved to HMP Usk. He said he was also subject of an attack by another inmate in Prescoed Prison.

He claimed inmates wrote threatening remarks on his family photographs and placed excrement on his belongings.On 16 May 2011, Dizaei's appeal against this conviction was successful and the conviction was quashed.In the Court of Appeal Lord Justice Hughes said that the court "simply [did] not know whether this conviction is soundly based or not". He continued, "In those circumstances we are driven to the conclusion that it cannot be regarded as safe." Dizaei's claim after his release was that he "left prison with his integrity completely intact". He described his experience in prison as 'hell', and likened it to 'putting your hand in a wasps' nest'. He publicly thanked his wife for exposing the false identity of Waad Al Baghdadi and his benefit fraud.In September 2011 Dizaei was successful in an appeal against his dismissal from the Metropolitan Police, since his conviction had been quashed by the Court of Appeal.

However he did not return to duty, but remained suspended pending his forthcoming retrial in the Crown Court on charges of misconduct in public office and perverting the course of justice.On a retrial in the Crown Court at Southwark before Mr Justice Saunders, concluding on 13 February 2012, Dizaei was again found guilty of perverting the course of justice and of misconduct in a public office. He was sentenced to three years imprisonment. On 15 May 2012 he was dismissed from the Metropolitan Police.Dizaei appealed to the Court of Appeal, but on 14 February 2013 his appeal was dismissed. The Lord Chief Justice said that 'the guilty verdict was fully justified' and that the conviction 'was and remains safe'.

Question: Name the former Metropolitan Police Commander convicted in 2010 of perverting the course of justice and sentenced to 4 years imprisonment.
Answer: Ali Dizaei